New Faces, Old Spaces
by Capstar98
Summary: Peter and Michelle visit the cabin, and they bring their kid, one month old Ben, with them. Cuteness ensues. [Part 3 of 'Fast Forward']


The cabin was Tony's happy place.

When the world had fallen apart, and half the life in the universe had been snuffed out - when Peter had been taken away - it had been a haven for him. A place for him, with the help of Pepper, to face his demons and start to heal. It was quiet and peaceful and absolutely different from what his life used to be.

When Morgan had come into their lives… well, it couldn't exactly be called peaceful anymore. But all the noise - the crying and the laughing and the screaming - were just proof that there was life inside. That Tony's family was inside. As Morgan had grown, his broken heart healed as best it could, and he had nearly forgotten what it was like to live without the two most important girls in his life. It was him and Pepper and Morgan against the world, and even through the hard moments, he had never been so happy in his life.

Then they had figured out how to bring everyone back, and when he first set eyes on Peter again, it was like the last missing puzzle piece had slid into place.

Peter had grown into a young man. He'd faced challenges, and loss, and gone to college and gotten married, and just a month ago he and MJ had brought their own child into the world. Little Ben.

It made Tony feel happier than he could even express. He had been at the hospital on the day, but he and Pepper had backed off to let Peter and Michelle enjoy and struggle through their first moments as parents. They had answered every phone call, of course, but they knew from experience that those moments were important beyond measure.

Now, though, they were coming upstate for a vacation, and were bringing Ben with them. Tony was more excited than he would admit - and he would admit a lot.

Since Morgan was in middle school now, she was out of the house most of the day - what with soccer practice and sleepovers and everything. The house was quieter than it used to be. He was looking forward to having the excitement of a baby back in the house, and excited to have all his family in one place.

* * *

True to form, the Parkers arrived in a flurry of noise and motion. They burst into the house, Peter holding all their bags in his hands, and Michelle cradling the baby in hers.

"Hey, everybody!" Peter called out, a wide smile on his face. "The party has arrived!" He dropped the bags to give Tony and Morgan big hugs. "And by party I mean two sleep deprived people and one adorable poop bag."

Pepper had gone straight for the baby, and was already cooing down at him, her face soft.

"Can I hold the baby?" Morgan asked excitedly.

"Let's get everyone settled first, honey," Pepper replied. "Why don't you take this stuff to their room?"

"Okay!" Morgan pulled the bags across the room and started heaving them up the stairs.

Michelle laughed. "She's eager."

"I don't blame her, this kid is adorable," Pepper said. MJ passed Ben off to her with a smile, and Pepper held the little boy close.

Peter was watching next to Tony, and he saw the same love in his eyes that Tony had whenever he looked at his kids.

"How have things been going?" Tony asked, leading them into the house.

Peter kicked off his shoes, and shared a knowing glance with MJ. "I mean… amazing. But also just…"

"It's a lot," Michelle finished for him. "And we knew it was going to be a lot, but still - it's a lot." Ben started fussing, and she went to grab him back from Pepper.

"If only he wasn't so cute," Peter said. "We'd have thrown him in the river ages ago."

MJ shot him a dirty look, and he raised his hands in defense. "Kidding! Just kidding!"

Tony laughed. "That's pretty much how it's always gonna feel," he said. "I should have thrown you in the river when I had the chance," he joked, elbowing Peter in the side.

Peter smiled and collapsed down on the couch, a sigh leaving his lungs. "It feels so good to be here," he said.

"Now Ben can scream all night and we won't get angry notes from the neighbors," MJ said brightly.

"He does have a set of pipes on him," Peter said.

MJ smiled. "Yeah, he won't shut up - he gets that from his father."

Something strange and wonderful twinged in Tony's chest at Peter being called a father, and he smiled. "We wouldn't expect anything less."

MJ shifted Ben in her arms. "Well, I'm gonna go give this kid some lunch. Maybe he'll settle down for a nap after that."

"You mind if I join?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, sure."

The two walked out of the living room to the kitchen, and then to the back porch, and Tony could hear their chatter muffle.

When they were gone, he turned to Peter. The kid - because he would always be a kid to Tony - honestly looked exhausted. There were heavy bags under his eyes, and he looked unusually pale. He was staring off into the middle distance in the direction that MJ and Pepper had gone.

"Peter?" Tony said, trying to not laugh when Peter snapped back to attention and focused on Tony.

"Yeah?"

"You doing okay?" he asked.

Peter shrugged. "It's like I said - it's been tough. I've never been so tired in my life. And historically I don't sleep."

Tony had to laugh at that.

"But…" Peter's expression went soft. "I already know that I would do anything for this kid. Anything," he stressed. "I'm so worried… all the time. That he's sick, or sad, or that I'll hurt him."

"We talked about that one, kid," Tony said softly. "You won't hurt him."

Peter wouldn't look at him. "Well, I know I won't physically hurt him. But I can't guarantee…" he looked pained. "I just want to be there for him, you know?"

Tony sighed. He knew what Peter meant - that he'd had too many fathers that had left him, and he didn't want to do that to his own kid. "Yeah, Pete. I know. And you will be. I promise."

"I didn't go out as Spider-Man," Peter continued, "for the first couple weeks. But then Doc Ock had been on the news, and - I couldn't stay back." He shook his head. "MJ wasn't happy about it. I'd told her I would wait."

"Have you talked about when you'd get back into it?"

Peter sighed. "No. I mean, she knows me - she knows I can't stay sidelined forever. But I don't think she wants to think about it right now."

Tony nodded. "Well, don't put it off forever. That'll only make things worse."

"Believe me, I've learned that lesson."

"I know, kid."

Peter looked up at him, and Tony saw the weight of responsibility reflected in his eyes. He'd always had that look, since he'd always seen the safety of others as his burden. But it seemed heavier now - or, different. But then the kid smiled. "The other day I was changing his diaper and got poop all over me," he laughed.

"Oh, god. I know that feeling, unfortunately," Tony said.

Peter shook his head at him in amused wonder. "The great Tony Stark, covered in baby poop?"

"Unbelievable, I know."

"Iron Man - defeater of Thanos and changer of diapers," Peter said dramatically. Then he looked wistful. "I wish I'd known Morgan as a baby."

Tony flashed a sad smiled. "Me too, bud."

"Speak of the devil," Peter said, and a moment later Morgan bounded back down the stairs, an excited grin on her face.

She leapt onto the couch next to Peter. "Where's Ben?" she asked.

Peter put a hand over her shoulder. "MJ's feeding him right now, they'll be back in a minute."

"Does he know how to talk yet?"

Peter shook his head. "He just kind of gurgles and cries right now. But you can usually tell what he's trying to say."

"When do babies start talking?"

Tony shrugged. "Like, a couple months on?" He leaned over and poked Morgan in the stomach, and she giggled. "You had your first word at three months."

"What did I say?"

"You said, 'No,'" Tony replied, amused. "I thought it was fitting."

Peter laughed. "I wonder what Ben's will be?"

"Oh, it'll be 'Mommy,'" said MJ from the doorway. She walked in with Ben in her arms. "Can you grab the bouncy chair, Pete? I think it's still in the car."

"Sure, yeah," Peter replied, and leapt up to grab it from outside.

Morgan was looking at Ben, her eyes wide. "Emmie, can I hold him?"

MJ smiled at her. "Yeah, okay. Find a good place to sit, okay?"

Morgan did as she was told, and sat up straight at the edge of the couch. Then, Michelle carefully positioned Ben into her arms. The baby gurgled at her, showing his gums, and she smiled wide, looking down into his eyes. "Aw, he's so cute!"

"When's my turn?" Tony asked, feigning grumpiness.

Michelle laughed. "Don't worry, you'll all have your fair share. By the way," she added, "have you decided what you want him to call you?"

"Huh?" Tony replied.

MJ shrugged. "Well, you're like his grandparents, really. Do you want him to call you something special?"

Tony and Pepper shared a look. He hadn't thought about that before. He had registered the baby as as much his family as Peter was, but he hadn't really realized - he was a grandfather.

It made him simultaneously very happy and very existential.

"Well, definitely not Granny and Grandpa," Pepper said wryly. "I don't think our egos could handle that." She thought for a moment. "Maybe… GiGi? That goes with Virginia."

MJ smiled. "I like that. Tony, do you have one."

"I'm thinking Babbo," he said, laughing. "It fits for a few reasons."

"GiGi and Babbo - grandparents extraordinaire."

"Sorry, are those your grandparent names?" Peter burst back in, an amused grin on his face and the bouncy chair in his hand. "That is too good," he laughed.

"You're just jealous," Tony shot back. "Not everyone gets to be called something as elegant as 'Babbo.'"

Peter just chuckled and set the chair down next to the couch. He squatted down in front of Morgan, who still held Ben in her lap. "How are you doing with him?" he asked.

Morgan looked up at him. "He seems so… breakable," she said. "And adorable."

"Yeah," Peter said proudly. "His two best features at the moment." He turned to Tony. "Why don't we let your dad have a turn, and then we'll try to get him to nap in the chair. Sound good?"

She nodded. "You know I learned how to change a diaper at school?" she said happily. "I could babysit!"

"Sure, but maybe when he's a bit older," MJ replied.

Peter carefully picked Ben up out of her arms, the child gurgling a bit more as he did. Then the child was being lowered down to Tony, and he accepted him happily.

He was probably biased, but this baby was up there with the cutest he'd ever seen - tied right with Morgan. He had round cheeks, hazel eyes, and a little tuft of brown hair.

Ben looked right up at him, and Tony gave him a little smile. He lifted his free hand and offered his finger up to the baby. He grabbed on tight, and Tony shook it around a little, happy as he could be. "Hey, Ben," he said softly. "It's your Babbo. You got one heck of a grip, don't you?"

Ben was blinking sleepily now, and Peter took him back to put in the bouncy chair.

"MJ, do you wanna stay?"

Michelle nodded.

"Alright," Peter said quietly. "Let's go play outside, MoMo, so Ben can nap."

She hopped up, giving one last look at Ben before she started walking to the door with Peter. "Let's go on the trampoline! We can play popcorn!"

"What's that?"

"Well, how you play is…" her voice faded as they walked outside.

Tony thought about following, but he was happy to stay quietly by the baby's side, watching him sleep peacefully.

* * *

Later, Tony was in the kitchen cooking dinner, watching the sun set through the window, and Ben was screaming fit to wake the dead.

"Shh," Peter was saying softly, bouncing Ben on his shoulder. "It's okay. I got you, Benny-boy. Shh."

Morgan was in the kitchen with Tony, and he almost laughed at how averse she was to the baby's cries. "Why's he so upset?" she asked him.

Tony shrugged. "He's just trying to talk, but he can't use words. So screaming gets the point across."

Peter came into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle he had left to cool on the counter. He tested it on his wrist, and then adjusted Ben in his arms so he could feed him. The boy cried a little longer, but after a few tries he latched onto the bottle and started drinking happily.

"See?" Peter said. "You're okay. Drink up, kid."

Tony chuckled at him. "You were right. That kid's got some lungs on him."

Peter smiled wearily. "Yeah, he sure knows how to say what he wants." He walked back over to the living room and sat down with Ben in his lap.

Tony passed Morgan a pepper and asked her to cut it up, then stirred what he had going on the stove. It was some kind of stir fry - he hadn't decided what to make the sauce, yet.

At that point MJ and Pepper came back inside. They had gone for a walk by the lake.

"Everything okay," Michelle asked Peter. She took a seat next to him.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, he just got hungry while you were out. I made him a bottle."

Pepper walked up to Tony and kissed him on the mouth.

"Ew!" Morgan said.

Tony smiled as she pulled away. "What was that for?" he asked.

"Just feeling happy," she said.

Tony understood. He was feeling the same.

* * *

Later that night, after the dishes had been done, and Morgan had been sent to bed, Peter and Tony sat on the couch together in front of the TV.

Peter looked wiped, and Tony knew that he'd be headed off to bed soon. Or, if he wasn't, Tony would make him.

Ben was asleep - for the moment, anyways. And MJ had already gone to bed.

"Hey, Tony?" Peter said.

He turned towards him. "Yeah, kid?"

Peter looked him in the eye. "I just - thanks for being there for me, I guess."

Tony smiled. Peter always got soft when he was tired. "Always," he replied.

Peter smiled back at him, and Tony could see the care reflected in his eyes. "Does always include when Ben wakes up screaming in about an hour?"

Tony chuckled. "I'll leave you to handle that one, Dad."

* * *

A/N: This was so fun to write! Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
